Baseball Heads to Arkansas Tuesday

March 28, 2011

No. 7 OU (19-6) at No. 13 Arkansas (18-6)
Game 26	Tuesday, March 29 (6:35 p.m. CT)
Location	Fayetteville, Ark. \| Baum Stadium
Radio	Sooner Sports Network \| KREF 1400 AM
Webcast	arkansasrazorbacks.com
Live Stats	SoonersSports.com
Game Information	Game Notes \| 2011 Media Guide \| Baseball Blog \| Twitter

MIDWEEK PREVIEW
• No. 7 Oklahoma (19-6) travels to Fayetteville, Ark., for a midweek road game with the No. 13 Razorbacks (18-6).
• The contest is slated for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday, March 29 at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.
• OU is ranked No. 7 by NCBWA, No. 10 by Baseball America, No. 11 by USA Today/Coaches and No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball.
• The Sooners return seven position starters from the 2010 squad that finished 50-18 and advanced to the program's 10th CWS.
• Arkansas returns 13 letterwinners from the 2010 team that finished 43-21 overall and second in the SEC West division (18-12).
• The Razorbacks finished 2010 with an 0-2 record in the Tempe Super Regional and a No. 13 final ranking by Baseball America.
• The Razorbacks are hitting .277 as a team, led by senior outfielder Kyle Robinson (.344, 4 HR, 25 RBI) and freshman infielder Dominci Ficociello (.348, 25 RBI).
• Arkansas will start freshman right-hander Ryan Stanek on Tuesday. He is 1-0 with a 4.88 ERA in seven appearances (five starts).

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU broadcast with Chuck Kelly (play-by-play) and Ross Hubbard (color) can be heard Tuesday on the Sooners' Flagship station, KREF 1400 AM and at SoonerSports.com. Air time is 30 minutes prior to first pitch.
• Live stats are available on the baseball schedule page and a live webcast for each game can be found on arkansasrazorbacks.com.

OU-ARKANSAS SERIES
The Sooners last met the Razorbacks in Norman during a 5-2 win on May 18, 2010. Arkansas won the last meeting in Fayetteville, an 8-7 extra-inning game on April 28, 2009. That game was the fi rst meeting in the series since 2002. The two met twice during the 2009 NCAA Norman Regional with Arkansas coming out on top in both games. OU won fi ve of the first seven meetings in the series, but just fi ve of the last 17 games. 14 of the 24 meetings have been decided by three runs or less with Arkansas holding an 8-6 edge. OU leads 5-4 when the game is decided by one run. OU's only win in six tries at Arkansas came in 1989 (W, 3-2).

OU STARTER
LHP Jordan John 2-0, 2.76 ERA, 8 BB, 13 SO

PLAYER TO WATCH - CHRIS ELLISON
The junior outfielder had season highs in hits (3), runs (3) and RBIs (2) in his last game versus SGU on Sunday, March 27. The two runs driven in marked the first multi-RBI game of the season for Ellison. The Norman, Okla., native ranks seventh in the Big 12 with eight stolen bases and is fourth on the team with 109 career starts.
2011 Season Stats: .351, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 8 SB

GOLLOWAY ON ARKANSAS
OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway talks about the renewed rivalry with Arkansas and the postseason implications the series has produced in recent years.

View video from yesterday's postgame from Coach Golloway on Arkansas:

OU-ARKANSAS SERIES
The Sooners last met the Razorbacks in Norman during a 5-2 win on May 18, 2010. Arkansas won the last meeting in Fayetteville, an 8-7 extra-inning game on April 28, 2009. That game was the first meeting in the series since 2002. The two met twice during the 2009 NCAA Norman Regional with Arkansas coming out on top in both games. OU won five of the first seven meetings in the series, but just five of the last 17 games.
14 of the 24 meetings have been decided by three runs or less with Arkansas holding an 8-6 edge. OU leads 5-4 when the game is decided by one run. OU's only win in six tries at Arkansas came in 1989 (W, 3-2).

ON DECK
After the midweek game, OU returns to Big 12 play to host Texas Tech (17-8, 4-2) on April 1-3 (6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 1 p.m.). Sunday's games will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network (Cox Ch. 3 in OKC and Tulsa), while Saturday's game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU.

LAST TIME OUT
The No. 7 Sooners posted a 2-1 record last week, including a Big 12 series split at Missouri on Friday. Due to wintry weather conditions in Columbia, the Sooners and Tigers played a doubleheader on Friday before the remainder of the weekend was cancelled. OU won the first game, 3-1, and fell 2-1 in the 11th inning of game two. On Sunday, OU scheduled a makeup game and defeated St. Gregory's 21-3.

MISC NOTES
- After 25 games, OU leads the Big 12 in batting average (.332), and ranks fourth in earned run average (3.19) and fifth in fielding percentage (.975).
- OU leads the Big 12 with 21 home runs while the other nine teams in the conference have a combined 71.
- OU leads the conference with 200 runs, the next closest team, Nebraska, has scored 179 runs. The Sooners lead the Big 12 in hits with 286, while Nebraska is second with 274.
- The Sooner offense has outscored the opposition 200-95.
- Garrett Buechele, the Big 12 Player of the Week on Feb. 21 and 28, leads the Big 12 with six homers. With the exception of Texas A&M, Nebraska,Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, he has equal or more home runs than five of the teams in the Big 12.
- Buechele also leads OU and the Big 12 leads with a .429 batting avg., 45 hits, six homers and 32 RBIs.
- In 16 of the Sooners' 25 starts, the hurlers have lasted at least five innings, including complete games by Jordan John, Bobby Shore and Michael Rocha. OU owns three of the 10 complete games tossed in 2011.
- Seven freshmen saw playing time after 17 games and 10 newcomers overall have taken the field.
- Michael Rocha and the Sooner bullpen limited the Tribe to one hit on Feb.18, the fewest allowed since OU's last no-hitter, a combined effort on March 9, 2005 vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff
- Rocha struck out 13 batters in Friday's shutout vs. Texas A&M, the most by a Sooner since Daniel McCutchen also sat down 13 Aggies on April 7, 2006.
- Rocha has lasted at least seven innings in all six starts with five or more strikeouts in each outing. Rocha has also limited the opposition to three hits or less in three of his starts ...
Rocha is tied for the national lead with six wins and rankssecond in the Big 12 with 46.2 innings pitched, third with a .166 opponent batting average and fourth with 42 strikeouts a 0.96 ERA

DUKE TAKES OVER CAREER SAVES LEAD
Ryan Duke, who is on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list for the second straight year, recorded his first save of 2011 on March 18 vs. Texas A&M and moved into sole possession of first place on OU's all-time saves list (below). Duke finished with 12 saves, the nation's 12th best total, in 2010 and ranked second in the Big 12. He led the Big 12 in saves with 16 in 2009 (ranked sixth in the nation), the second most in a single season by a Sooner (Jeff Bajenaru - 20, 2000). He is the first Sooner in OU history to have 10 or more saves in two seasons.

1. 30 - Ryan Duke (2008-present)
2. 28 - Jeff Bajenaru 1999-00)

SHUTOUTS
Michael Rocha's 13 strikeouts and Ryan Duke's first save of 2011 led OU to a 1-0 shutout over No. 11 Texas A&M on March 18. The Sooners have two shutouts in the books, also blanked SDSU 4-0 on March 3, after posting three in 2010. The most shutouts recorded in a single season during the Sunny Golloway era is five, recorded in 2009, 2007 and 2006.

DUKE AND BUSHYHEAD RETURN
Junior shortstop Caleb Bushyhead and senior right-handed pitcher Ryan Duke returned to action against Arkansas-Little Rock. Bushyhead had two hits and two walks in his first start on Friday after having surgery on his torn ACL (right) in October. On Saturday, Ryan Duke made his first relief appearance of 2011 and did not register a save, but recorded his 14th career win.

16-0 RECORD START
The 16-0 start is the best for a Sooner club, topping the 12 straight wins to begin the 1998 season. Other double-digit undefeated streaks to begin a season include 1984 (11-0) and 1974 (10-0). It marks the longest undefeated streak in the Big 12 era (since 1997), tied with the 2005 Texas team.

The 16-game winning streak is also the best under head coach Sunny Golloway and the sixth double-digit streak in his tenure (13 in 2006, 11 in 2007, 11 in 2008, 10 in 2009 and 10 in 2010). Its also the 25th in program history and longest since 1985 (19).

OGLE ON JOHNNY BENCH WATCH LIST
For the second straight season, junior catcher Tyler Ogle was named to the Johnny Bench watch list for the 2011 season. Ogle caught in 42 games last year as he hit .331 with 11 homers and 46 RBIs, while recording a .992 fielding percentage and throwing out 11 base stealers. The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission released the Watch List for the 2011 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award delivered by Papa John's Pizza on March 10.

ESPNU ADDS TEXAS TECH GAME
The Sooners' home game against Texas Tech on April 2 will be televised live from L. Dale Mitchell Park at 7 p.m. Overall, 18 games will be televised in 2011, including three other national/regional broadcasts.

OU NO. 5 IN PRESEASON POLLS
The Sooners were tabbed No. 5 in Baseball America's preseason top 25 poll. Oklahoma was also ranked No. 5 in the preseason by the NCBWA. The Sooners have been ranked in the top 10 by Baseball America, at some point in the season, in each of the last three years. Only the 1984-1987 Sooners can claim a better streak among the nation's top 10 in program history. The 2011 preseason ranking is the highest for OU since 1995 when it was coming off the program's second National Championship and entered the season as Baseball America's No. 3 team in the nation.

Polls: BA | USA | CB | NCBWA

SOONERS FAVORED TO WIN BIG 12 REGULAR SEASON
For the first time since 1995, Oklahoma is the preseason favorite to claim the Big 12 baseball regular season championship heading into the 2011 season, in a vote of the league's head coaches.

In 2010, the Sooners made their 10th College World Series appearance and first trip to Omaha since 1995. It marks the first time since 1995 that OU was selected as the top pick in the preseason poll. The Sooners have twice been picked No. 2 in the Big 12 preseason poll (1999 and 2001) with the highest prediction under Golloway coming in 2010 (fourth). In 1995, OU was the No. 1 team headed into the Big Eight season after winning the program's second National Chamionship the previous year.

WHO's BACK
The Sooners return seven position starters and two weekend starting pitchers from last year's College World Series team that won 50 games for the fifth time in program history. Included in that bunch is 2010 All-American Garrett Buechele at third base, 2010 Freshman All-American Max White at second base and 2009 All-American Ryan Duke (closer). OU welcomes back all but 14 of the 105 home runs hit last year and 32 of the 50 wins registered by the pitching staff.

BLAIR, BUECHELE, OGLE & ROCHA NAMED CAPTAINS
Seniors Elliott Blair and Michael Rocha and juniors Garrett Buechele and Tyler Ogle were voted as the 2011 captains by their teammates back in October during the team's annual visit to Willow Springs Boys Ranch in Chandler, Okla. Buechele is is the only two-time captain (2010).

BUECHELE A PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Junior Garrett Buechele was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Collegiate Baseball preseason All-America teams. It marks the first such selection for Buechele, who was tabbed a second team All-American following the Sooners' 2010 postseason run. Buechele led OU in every offensive category en route to the program's 10th CWS appearance and first since 1995. The Arlington, Texas, was selected in the 18th round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers.

He is the second Sooner to be named to a preseason list under head coach Sunny Golloway's watch (Ryan Duke in 2010).

BASEBALL ON KREF 1400 AM IN 2011 | PDF of schedule
The 2011 season marks the second with KREF 1400 AM serving as the flagship station of Sooner baseball. The partnership provides expanded coverage for OU fans to listen to 54 regular season games live over the air and extends into postseason play.

Additionally, 23 of the games are set to be carried on the Sooners Sports' Network, enabling fans to listen to OU baseball on the radio state-wide. The state-wide coverage begins on April 1 against Texas Tech and will continue for each of the games in Big 12 play. The network schedule also includes OU's midweek games at home vs. Oklahoma State (April 5) and TCU (April 12).

The entire 56-game regular season schedule will also be broadcast live on the internet via Oklahoma All-Access, OU's premium content site.

2011 TELEVISION SCHEDULE | PDF of schedule
In 2011, 13 baseball games will be televised locally for the 2011 season by Sooner Vision and Sooner Sports Properties. The broadcasts will air via the Sooner Sports Network on Cox Channel 3 in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Local sports personality Toby Rowland from KWTV News 9 (Oklahoma City) will call the play-by-play along with color analyst Kenny Mossman, Oklahoma Associate Athletics Director for Communications.

On top of the local coverage, the Sooners can also be seen nationally for three contests. In the last six years, 69 OU games have been seen on regional or national television, with 20 telecasts in 2010.

Sooner Sports Network-Cox Ch. 3 in OKC/Tulsa)
March 12 - Arkansas Little Rock (2 p.m.)
March 13 - Arkansas Little Rock (1 p.m.)
March 18 - Texas A&M (6:30 p.m.)
March 19 - Texas A&M (2 p.m.)
March 20 - Texas A&M (1 p.m.)
April 3 - Texas Tech (1 p.m.)
April 5 - Oklahoma State (6:30 p.m.)
April 12 - TCU (6:30 p.m.)
April 17 - vs. Oklahoma State (4:05 p.m.)
April 19 - Dallas Baptist (6:30 p.m.)
May 6 - Kansas (6:30 p.m.)
May 8 - Kansas (1 p.m.)
May 15 - New Mexico (1 p.m.)

Fox Sports Southwest
April 30 - at Texas (11:30 a.m.)
May 7 - Kansas (2 p.m.)

ESPNU
May 1 - at Texas (1 p.m.)
April 2 - Texas Tech (7 p.m.)

Cowboy Sports Network
April 15 - vs. Oklahoma State (7:35 p.m.)

SOONERS INK 14 FOR 2012 SEASON
Oklahoma baseball head coach Sunny Golloway announced the signing of 14 student athletes as part of the 2012 signing class on Wednesday. The recruits signed National Letters of Intent in the early signing period and are set to join the Sooners next fall.

Overall, 12 of the 14 recruits are rated by Perfect Game Crosschecker as prospects for the 2011 MLB Draft. Four of the signees have already been selected in the draft, including three last season.

Clayton Blackburn | RHP | 6-2 | 210
Edmond, Okla. (Edmond Santa Fe H.S.)

Brian Brightwell | OF/1B | L/L | 6-0 |185
Oklahoma City, Okla. (Putnam City H.S.)

Tony Calhoun | RHP/ INF | R/R | 6-1 | 180
Temecula, Calif. (Howard College)

Garrett Carey | SS | R/R | 6-2 | 210
Hutto, Texas (McClennan C.C.)

Mason Hope | RHP | R/R | 6-3 | 185
Broken Arrow, Okla. (Broken Arrow H.S.)

Adrian Houser | RHP | R/R | 6-3 | 200
Locust Grove, Okla. (Locust Grove H.S.)

Nick Lee | LHP/ OF | L/L | 6-0 | 190
San Antonio, Texas (Weatherford College)

Hunter Lockwood | C | R/R | 5-11 | 189
Bedford, Texas (Lawrence Dale Bell H.S.)

Damien Magnifico | RHP | R/R | 6-1 | 190
Mesquite, Texas (Howard College)

Austin O'Donnell | RHP | R/R | 6-0 | 210
Magnolia, Ark. (Northeast Texas C.C.)

Steven Okert | LHP | L/L | 6-3 | 215
Rowlett, Texas | Grayson County College

Jacob Rhame | RHP | R/R | 6-0 | 190
Corinth, Texas (Denton Guyer H.S.)

Nick Sawyer | RHP | R/R | Fr. | 5-10 | 180
Carrollton, Texas (Howard College)

Ty Washington | INF | R/R | 5-10 | 165
Richardson, Texas (Plano East H.S.)